7 Acts Not To Be Missed At size?Sessions Festival 2022

This year sees the inaugural edition of size?sessions Festival, a new all-day event—set to take place at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse on August 20—which aims to unite music and sneaker culture. 

A strictly UK affair, the footwear and apparel store have resisted the temptation to book any US artists, instead focusing on the glut of talent we have right here on our own shores. Headlining the day will be AJ Tracey, who is no doubt still riding high after an inspired set at Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage. Also on the bill, they’ve got Church Road rap legend Nines, South Kilburn’s man-of-the-moment Knucks, grime-Afro-rap hybrid MC BackRoad Gee, Birmingham icon M1llionz, rising Merryland rhymer Cristale, pop-R&B singer Miraa May, as well as Kwengface, Clavish, Kenny Allstar, Comfy, Juice Menace, Kennedy Taylor, Tamera, The KTNA, and many more.

While it is only one day, it’s going to be a hectic one with tonnes to see. To make things a little easier, we’ve pulled together a list of seven acts, a mixture of big names and young stars on the rise, that are not to be missed at size?sessions.

Getting Nines booked at this year’s festival is a major deal for the size? family. It wasn’t that long ago that he announced his retirement, so you may not get another chance to see this UK rap legend live in the flesh. That would, of course, be a huge shame given how much gold he gave us on Crop Circle and Crabs In A Bucket. Nines isn’t the most visible artist in the world, but there is a chance you might catch him in the crowd, too. “After performing a set at a festival, I like to go in the crowd and watch other artists perform just like everybody else,” he tells us. “When you’re an artist, you don’t get to see performances from the crowd, but it’s a different experience.” So if you missed him at Wireless, grab with both hands any and every opportunity to catch him perform “Clout”, “Airplane Mode” and “I See You Shining”.

Get your tickets here.

There’s never been a better time to catch Knucks live. With his most recent project, Alpha Place, we got some of the South Kilburn rapper’s most accomplished and refined work to date. His career highlights don’t stop there, though—he’s been racking up gems for years, so whether he sticks to the new stuff or goes deep into the archives, his set is guaranteed to have pretty much something for everyone. What’s more, he’s had a pretty healthy stack of bookings this festival season, including Wireless and Strawberries & Creem, so he’s had more than enough practice.

Get your tickets here.

Cristale’s rise has been swift and precise. If you’ve ever heard her talk about songwriting and her craft in general, you’ll know that she takes it all very seriously. Her discography might not be as extensive as some of the others on this list, but between “Militant”, “Morgan”, “Merryland”, and her recent What’s It Like To Be Young project, she’s not exactly short on heaters and she’s already cultivated a pretty passionate fanbase. So expect a young artist with something to prove, a bag of charisma, and a more than respectable collection of crowd favourites.

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This doesn’t really need to be explained, does it? A one-man banger factory, BackRoad Gee has got turn-up anthems for days and days. Pretty much any track from Reporting Live (From The Back Of The Roads) is guaranteed to drive any crowd loopy, but don’t forget he’s also got “My Family” and the whole Mukta vs. Mukta tape to pull from. He’s another artist who’s been using his time in the sun very wisely, collecting festival appearances like Pokémon cards and honing possibly the most energetic live show going.

Get your tickets here.

Since he first emerged in 2019, Birmingham rhymer M1llionz has grown immeasurably as an artist. He’s had bangers from day one (see: “B1llionz”, “Lagga”), but for our money, we still haven’t really seen the full moshpit potential of his Provisional License tape live and in the flesh. There are more than a few slept-on anthems there. Quickly, go listen to “Mobbin” and “Adrenaline” and tell me you don’t hear a bit of early 2000s SLK or Slew Dem-type grime energy in there. Enter the moshpit at your own risk.

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AJ Tracey has developed a remarkable stage show these past few years. Whether he’s joined by the full band that helped him smash the Pyramid Stage at Glasto, or if he keeps it relatively low-key with a DJ, his stage presence has really grown. The West London native’s got a tonne of bangers, so a moshpit is all but guaranteed and, as he tells Complex, we should “expect pure energy, a mix of genres and styles, and something that everyone can turn up to.” And, without jinxing things, let’s not forget he has a tonne of collaborations too, so a guest or two wouldn’t be the craziest prediction…

Get your tickets here.